


Letters of Common Ground

by BraveAncientSoldier



Category: The Lord of the Rings - All Media Types, The Lord of the Rings - J. R. R. Tolkien
Genre: Eryn Lasgalen, Not Beta Read, One-Shot, Tolkien, woodland elves shenanigans
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-25
Updated: 2020-04-25
Packaged: 2021-03-02 04:33:46
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,908
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23839165
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BraveAncientSoldier/pseuds/BraveAncientSoldier
Summary: The Fellowship of the Ring leaves Imladris, leaving Elrond with the hazardous job of informing Thranduil of the fate of Legolas.Letters, wine and a notorious hawk ensue.one-shotBased on my tumblr post. I should be working now but I don't feel like it so I guess this is my pilot one-shot.
Relationships: Elrond Peredhel & Lindir, Elrond Peredhel & Thranduil, Legolas Greenleaf & Thranduil
Comments: 9
Kudos: 97





	Letters of Common Ground

**Author's Note:**

> Hope I stayed a little true to the characters. First time I actually post anything I write. Blame it on the lockdown. Not beta-read. English is also not my first (nor second) language so please tell me if something is not correct. Also, I don’t know how English punctuation works lol so sorry about that.

**Letters of Common Ground**

Elrond watches as the last of the Fellowship passed over the bridge of Imladris. He had hoped that some of his weariness would lift as soon as the ring would leave his house but it seems he was mistaken. He still had many tasks left to fulfill.

“Lindir!”, he called and the elf came to his side.

“Please, inform the Woodland delegation to slightly delay their departure. And prepare an excellent bottle of wine to be packaged.”

Lindir acknowledged the request. “May I ask why?”.

Elrond watched the some of the Greenwood elves pass over the square and climb in a tree, to try to get a better view of the leaving Fellowship.

“I have to write a letter to king Thranduil with a report about the council and an explanation for why his son is the only elf in a company of a wizard he finds irritating, two humans with a complicated background, a dwarf with a multi-generational spite against the Woodland elves, and four hobbits and none of my own warriors.”.

Lindir blinked slowly. He had not considered this yet.

“Master Elrond, shall I also prepare your departure to Valinor? Just in case ?”, he joked.

Elrond turned to him. “Maybe, that would be a wise course of action indeed.”.

He patted his steward on the shoulder while passing him. He should really start writing that letter. The delegation would want to leave quickly as soon as they had no longer any reason to sit in his trees.

Lindir remained behind and watched to more Woodland elves join their kin in the trees. 

There was a knock on the door.

‘”Enter.”, answered Thranduil.

He was seated at his desk, going through some reports on the trade with Dale. He had poured himself a glass of wine but it stood yet untouched at the corner of the desk.

A guard entered the study and bowed.

“Aran-nin!”, he began, “the envoys to Imladris have returned.”

Thranduil looked up from his papers. “Ah, excellent! Let them enter and report.”. It had been too quiet lately.

The guard stayed where he was, fidgeting uncomfortably. “They …uh…they asked me to implore you to read the letters first.”.

Thranduil stared at the two scrolls the guard held out in his hand. He could see one with the Imladris seal meaning that it most likely came from Elrond or Lindir himself. The other one had the royal Greenwood seal. Only one other person besides himself could use that seal.

“Why should I?”

The guard, still slightly bowed, swallowed: “They didn’t elaborate, aran-nin.”

Thranduil sighed. “Very well, leave them here. Tell the envoys not to wander too far.”

The guard bowed after depositing the scrolls at his desk and hurried out of the room.

Thranduil reached for the letter that must have been written by his son. He didn’t really care about what Elrond had to tell him. Knowing the Noldo it was most likely a report of the past council or some demand he did not dare to ask to the Elvenking’s face.

That Legolas had decided to write one, was more discerning. Had he decided to spend some more time in Imladris? Thranduil had been very clear about his instruction. Go report of the escape of the pitiful creature called Gollum, listen to whatever matter of so-called ‘grave importance’ made Elrond to call together this council and then report back to him. Thranduil suspected that Elrond had foreseen some kind of war that he dared not specify in his council invitation. He would most likely ask for alliances or the promise for some armies, or something the like.

Neither the envoys nor Legolas had the authority to pledge such loyalties. Is that what had happened? Is this why the envoys did not want to face him? Did Legolas promise the cooperation of the Woodland Realm without his permission for some war that Elrond thinks will happen?

In Thranduil’s opinion the war had been going on already for several years.

He decided to just read whatever Legolas might have done and get it over with. He ripped the seal of and opened the scroll, spreading it out on top of his previous paperwork.

The letter was quiet lengthy and indeed written in the handwriting of the prince. Thranduil let his eyes fly along the lines. He felt his heart slowly falling away through the floors out of the mountain stronghold. The potted plant in the room felt his distress and lost most of it leaves as if autumn had come suddenly and relentlessly.

Legolas had not volunteered any other warriors.

Thranduil reached for his glass wine and emptied it in one drink.

He was certain that only his son would conclude that it was wise to volunteer himself if he did not have the explicit authority to promise the assistance of others.

Legolas had explained about the great importance of the quest, and Thranduil would not deny that, but surely there were enough other trained elves in Imladris to join this ‘fellowship’? Either from Greenwood or Imladris?

Thranduil shifted his gaze to the second scroll. Why then, had Elrond not interfered?

He opened the second scroll and slowly read the letter that clearly was penned by Elrond himself.

A small corner of the Elvenking’s mouth twitched when he realized that the Lord of Imladris had been nervous when composing this letter. As he should.

He read through the cool report that formed the introduction, the promise that no one had pressured Legolas in his decision, that most of the fellowship members where decent, hardened warriors. Most ?!

Elrond had tried to paint the actions of Legolas as an honour and an act of bravery but Thranduil couldn’t care less. The rest of the letter he filed away as poor excuses, made to appease his temper.

Until he came the last line.

_‘I am positive that you can show understanding for your son’s actions and the decisions taken by this council; for none other would know better the stubbornness of one of the house of Oropher.’_

Elrond probably meant it as a compliment to the steadfastness of his kin, but Thranduil read it as a poorly veiled insult.

Anger nearly overtook him and he considered throwing his wine glass against the wall by lack of a better target. Alas, he had a feeling he would still need the glass this evening.

“Send the envoys in!” he barked to the doors, confident that his guards could hear him.

The envoys apparently had been camping at the door for they immediately filed in bowing in front of his desk. In the front, Gladir stepped forward.

“Aran-nin! We have returned from the council as promised. The Last Homely house also gave us this as a token of their friendship.”. Gladir presented a bottle of wine.

Thranduil kept his face frozen. If Elrond thought he could lessen his anger by wine, he had clearly not known him long enough. The Elvenking had learned long ago that it solved nothing. And certainly not this draught of Imladris that was held out before him.

He vaguely waved his hand to the side, ordering Gladir to leave the bottle wherever there was spot.

“I only have one question for you, since I am certain I will read all of the other details in the reports that I expect on my desk in two days.”.

The envoys nodded. “Aran-nin!”

“Why did my son volunteer himself?”.

One of the envoys looked briefly at the scroll of Legolas that was laid out on his desk. She obviously hoped that the prince had explained his motivation in the letter to his father. And he had. But that was not the answer that Thranduil sought.

Gladir understood. He stepped forward once again.

“Aran-nin. Prince Legolas had forbidden us from interfering hence we could not volunteer ourselves. I…We tried to talk to him but he would not be persuaded. None of us could go against his wishes”.

Thranduil sighed. He should have gone to the council himself. He wanted to ask if they would have. Would they have volunteered themselves instead of their prince? Would they have chosen not to return home?

But he could not ask and he would not ask.

“Very well. You may go now. Take a rest after your travels.”

He dismissed them and the envoys saluted before leaving the room quickly.

Thranduil felt a headache coming up. Oh, how grateful he was for not smashing his wineglass earlier. He refilled it with some quality Dorwinion and contemplated these ill tidings.

He had to answer Elrond. He wished he could also give Legolas a literary piece of his mind but his whereabouts were unknown now. Instead, fortunately, he could give Elrond a piece of his mind. He contemplated also sending a bottle of decent Dorwinion wine to accompany his reply but decided against it. The wine would be wasted on the Noldor and his own people had better uses for it, anyway.

Suddenly he stood up and strode to the door. He opened it and one of the guards turned to him.

“Bring me a messenger hawk. I have a letter to write.”.

It was a bright day when Elrond was stirred from his thoughts by Lindir.

“Master Elrond, the sentries have spotted a Greenwood messenger hawk.”

They walked to the balcony and saw indeed a large bird diving down to Imladris. But its course was off.

Lindir frowned. “It is not flying to the post building.”

“I assume that Thranduil convinced it to immediately deliver his letter to the addressee : me.”, Elrond mused.

And indeed, he had spoken truly, for the bird made a final swoop down to the balcony and landed on the railing in front of the lord of Imladris. Elrond took the small scroll with the royal seal from him.

“Thank you for your service, friend. You can now take a rest.”.

The hawk looked at him with unblinking eyes.

Then it pecked at Elrond’s hand. Playful enough as to not draw blood, but hard enough to make it painful. The gaze of the bird did not show any kindness.

“Woodelves.”, Lindir muttered under his breath as the hawk finally set off to go take a well-deserved nap.

Elrond smiled wearily. “Come now, Lindir. If a peck of a hawk is all that Thranduil wishes to do to me, I would call myself lucky.”.

Lindir raised an eyebrow. “You don’t know that yet. Maybe first read the letter before calling yourself lucky, I would advise.”

Elrond nodded and turned to the letter in his hand. He broke the seal and opened the shortest note he had ever received from the Elvenking. He smiled sadly.

On the note, there was only one sentence written. There was no date, nor any formal opening statement, no signature or other additions. Yet it was crystal clear who had written down the skillful Tengwar. It read:

_‘Know that, Peredhel, if my son does not return from this endeavor, I will make you regret choosing immortality.’_

He passed the note to Lindir who read it quickly. He looked up at Elrond.

“Is he making a …threat?”.

Elrond turned away, again overlooking the valley from the balcony.

“It is a promise.” He concluded. “A promise from one father to another.”.

“My lord?”.

Elrond looked over his shoulder to his trusted steward.

“It seems Thranduil and I have finally reached a mutual understanding.”

**Author's Note:**

> I tried to write this so that it would both fit the book and the movie kind of. In the book Elrond just declares to Frodo that Legolas will go to represent the Elves. He also wants to find two elves from his own household but doesn’t ultimately because Merry and Pippin want to go (with support from Gandalf) and two more elves would upset the nine nazgul against nine walkers theory. I can only imagine the reaction of other elf-lords when he explains that he has chosen two more hobbits instead of one of them, to accompany the ring-bearer.   
> I also put a few headcannons of mine into it of course. I feel like Thranduil will respect Elrond, for what he has done and for being the lord of last homely house but yet will think him sometimes meddlesome and over-diplomatic. I also like to think that the woodelves have a good connection with their forest and plant life, and especially the king. I base this hc on the legend of the fisherking and the like but I have no real Tolkien based proof for it. I also don’t know if there are messenger hawks but if they can have giant eagles, why not slightly-smarter woodland hawks?  
> Hope you all like it and let me know what you think!!!


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